Re: Philosophy: the Aim of Technical Comms?

[Nancy Hayes <nancyh -at- PMAFIRE -dot- INEL -dot- GOV>]

Larry Kunz:
>>         "Give them what they need, when they need it."
Bruce Covell:
> And to that I would add "and where they need it".

And I would add, "whether or not they really =want= it".

 I work with
technical procedures, and if we gave the users what they need, when they
need it, and where they need it, we'd end up with hundred-page procedures
(or 2-page procedures if we're talking about a senior operator).

I'll agree that user-oriented technical writing is the best idea, but in
many cases what the user needs isn't necessarily what the user wants.

Nancy Lynn Hayes        nancyh -at- pmafire -dot- inel -dot- gov   OR  NHAYES -at- inel -dot- mail

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Post Message:	TECHWR-L -at- LISTSERV -dot- OKSTATE -dot- EDU
Get Commands:	LISTSERV -at- LISTSERV -dot- OKSTATE -dot- EDU with "help" in body.
Unsubscribe:	LISTSERV -at- LISTSERV -dot- OKSTATE -dot- EDU with "signoff TECHWR-L"
Listowner:	ejray -at- ionet -dot- net